Disclamer: I don't own these characters. They all belong to Cassandra Clare.

Saying Goodbye

Two weeks ago a knock on the door echoed through the house, time stopped the moment she saw the police officer. Her parents had been involved in a car accident, none of them survived. Emptiness, hurt, loneliness, confusion, disbelief. Tessa couldn't believe she'd be alone now, she was too young, still sixteen and her only family was in London working, her older brother.

In day her whole world had shattered, everything she knew would soon be just a memory, even against her wishes, she'd be flying to London that morning and saying goodbye to the only city she has even known. New York.

"Last call to flight DY7016 to Gatwick, London."

The voice in the speaker brought Tessa back to earth, her mind wandered the whole time while waiting by the gate to get in the plane. A lot of questions and issues worried her, she and her brother had been close when he was still in New York, but would he be happy to see her? Tessa couldn't help but feel something twist inside her, he'd always had problems with gambling and alcohol, and back home their parents controlled it, but no one could guarantee Tessa that in London he could control himself.

"Miss, isn't this your flight?" A bold man spoke to her, his tone was friendly and the underlying concerne in his voice made her look down at her ticket.

"Oh my god. Yes it is!" Tessa exclaimed, awkwardly picking her handbag from the floor and tightening the grip of a book against her chest. She took off half-running to the entrance of the gate, apologizing numerous times to the woman that scanned her eyes through Tessa's ticket and ID.

"No problem. Have a good flight Miss." The woman smiled politely.

"Thank you." Tessa bowed a little, grateful. She wasn't sure exactly what she was grateful for, her genuine smile perhaps. For the past weeks the only smiles she got from people were of pity or of sympathy out of what happened to her parents and what it made of her now. An orphan.

Somehow she had been lucky, no one sat next to her in the plane, although some people do like company on plane flight, she didn't think she would. Tessa had never been on a plane before and right now talking was still very hard for her.

She sighed, thankful for the time alone, she was exhausted, all the paperwork to transfer schools, packing, selling the house, all the things she'd never dreamed of doing, not anytime soon. Tessa reached for her book on the next seat and started to read, it was one of the two books she could bring with her, A Tale of Two Cities. The classics had always influenced the way she thought, she admired how men were usually described as gentlemen and polite, and women as talented and fragile. However, she was pretty aware of the dangers outside of a wealthy family and that women were basically treated as intellectually inferior than men, but they were respected and appreciated, something that she no longer saw in society.

Tessa had fallen asleep reading, skipping the two meals offered by the airline, the flight was over six hours long and that was the most peaceful time she has had since that knock on the door. She only woke up when a cabin assistant gently tapped her shoulder.

"Miss, we've landed and everyone already left."

"Of course…" The tinge of red on her cheeks was obvious, Tessa quickly gathered her belongings and made her way out, only stopping when she walked out of the airport, glancing around to find her brother, who she expected to pick her up. For some reason she couldn't find him, there was no one waiting for their loved ones in the hall anymore, she was alone in the room.

"Where are you Nate…" She whispered desperate to see his face, but there was no message on her phone and two hours had passed already.

After the flight Tessa just wanted to rest and eat something warm, she was drained of energy and she couldn't remember the last time she had had a good night of sleep, yet she was stuck in the cold airport, sat on the floor, her luggage next to her.

"Tessa." A familiar voice echoed in her ears, she wasn't sure if it was real anymore, the exhaustion had settle inside her half hour ago. "Tessa." She heard it again, finally glancing up to see her brother's fair hair carefully combed to the side. "I couldn't arrive earlier, but I'm here now. Let's go home." He reached for the travel bag while Tessa slowly stood up, her handbag over her shoulder and the book against her chest, a habit she developed when she was younger.

"Nate." She smiled for the first time in two weeks, she longed to see her brother's face for so long.

"We can speak when we're in the car." He was brief and straightforward. Tessa sensed something wrong but stopped herself from saying anything yet. Nate was always so sweet and gentle with her, his features were harder now and his words were rough.

"Did you borrow the car from one of your coworkers?" She asked as she reached for the seat belt.

"This car is mine."

"Oh… I'm glad you're earning a good salary." Tessa's mouth perked up into a smile, at least he was in a good path, she thought.

"Yes."

His words were cold, the girl was confused by his distant behavior, she wondered what had happened to him while she was in New York, what made him so indifferent for her presence there.

"N-Nate…" She hesitated, he clearly didn't want to talk to her. "What will happen to us now?"

He glanced at her for a moment before his eyes were back on the road. He looked older, Tessa thought, beside the coldness of his behavior, she wondered again why but the course of thought was broke.

"I'll go back to my house and you'll stay here."

Tessa moved her gaze to see a big and old building, it was beautiful yes, but confusion quickly clouded her mind. "What?" She gasped. "Why? I-I thought… Why can't I stay with you?"

"I don't want you there." He said, cold and indifferent as before. "I made sure all the paperwork for your transfer was done in time, they're waiting for you. Goodbye Tessa."

Shock and horror were plastered across her face, she could feel the tears stinging her eyes but she swallowed them back, promising herself she'd remain strong. She had cried a lot for the past days, she was exhausted, and even thought the lump in her throat was large enough to stop the words from coming, she managed to say one single word, with all the disappointment and hope it could bear. "Nate…"

"Welcome to the London Institute Miss Gray." A woman had said, her eyes on Tessa. "I'm Headmistress Branwell and this is Sophia, my most trusted student, we're here to help you settle down."

Tessa didn't know how the car door opened, she couldn't remember, but her body involuntarily moved to stand up. Her brother had already took her travel bag from the car trunk and was standing next to the car, away from Tessa.

"Nate please…" The words escaped her lips, she was counting on staying with him when she got on the plane, she needed him more than ever, and yet he was abandoning her at the doorstep of what looked to be a boarding school.

A/N: So I had this idea and I thought why not? I'm really excited and I hope you like it.

I'll try to post every two days or so. Thank you for reading.